Back to Then
by Pale-Spaz101
Summary: Kat's mom comes back and they have to consider whether they can go from where they are now, back to where they were then.
1. Default Chapter

Back to Then  
  
Summary: Kat's mom comes back and they have to consider whether they can go from where they are now, back to where they were then. Heavily relies on Kat and Patrick's relationship but also relays a lot of the relationships that Kat has with everyone else...including the mother that she thought she lost. This story takes place after the movie, and is set in Kat's point of view!  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters nor do I pretend to (although, i wish i did!!!) lol  
  
Chapter One: Things Can Only Get Better  
  
I bobbed my head along to the Indie rock group that banged their instruments into my headphones, mildly taking note of the odd looks I was getting as I walked down the hallway to my English class. I slipped inside and took my seat while passing Joey Donner's seat with a fire burning inside of me just at having to do so.  
  
  
  
"Hey, Kat, wanna purr for me?" He asked, raising his eyebrows and shaking his pelivis out like Elvis. I rolled my eyes.  
  
  
  
"No. But I'll hiss." I told him seriously, and gave him a stone hard look that had him sitting back in his seat feeling uneasy despite his cockiness. He smirked anyway, daring fate.  
  
  
  
"Well, kitty Kat, maybe we can work something out after a little lap dance-," his words were abruptly cut off as Patrick slinked into the classroom and took his seat next to Joey. He moved sideways in his seat leaning in towards Joey with a large grin on his face as if daring him to continue.  
  
  
  
Joey slinked back into his chair, frowning to himself.  
  
Patrick looked over at me and winked with a smile, and I just rolled my eyes with a shrug.  
  
"Alright!" Mr. Morgan came into the room late, with a top hat in his right hand that was filled with little white pieces of paper. "We're going to be doing a project on Shakespeare's sonnets, and your partners will be chosen randomly," he gestured to the thing he held in his hand, "from my trusty little top hat."  
  
I had my hand raised even before the simutaneous groans sounded through the room.  
  
Mr. Morgan sighed. "What?"  
  
I kept my face straight and replied in my most sophisticated voice, "Wouldn't it be less time consuming if we were to choose our own partners on our own time. That way, we can get right into today's lesson."  
  
"That's a nice idea," he replied, pausing for only a second as his sarcastic smile spread across his face and then turned to the girl sitting directly in front of him in the front row. "Wanna draw first?"  
  
He went down the rows until finally stopping in front of me and I was about to protest but caught Patrick looking at me out of the corner of my eyes and figured that I could save my tantrum for later. I stuck my hand inside and pulled out a piece of paper, unfolding it slowly while keeping my eyes focused on Mr. Morgan as if daring him to tell me something in my now crabby mood. When I glanced down at the name written across the paper, I muttered a curse under my breath: Joey Donner.  
  
"No, Mr. Morgan. This isn't going to work, you wouldn't push this!" I glanced at Joey who had sunk deeper into his desk, taking a sideways glance at Patrick who was staring back and forth at me and Joey; amused.  
  
The teacher just smiled as if getting his payback and winked, "Things only get better when they reach their peak of worse."  
  
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"This is so condescending!" I managed to say through gritted teeth as Mandella and I made our way out to my car. "I do not want to work with Joey 'pretty boy' Donner if it meant I saved the world from oppression!" Mandella looked at me sidelong, amusement clear in her sparkly eyes.  
  
"Its not funny," I told her seriously. She stopped and I turned to face her, she kept a straight face staring back at me and then we both busted out into laughter. "Okay, so its kinda funny." I admitted. Pointing a finger at her I added, "You just remember who drives you home, huh?"  
  
She laughed again and we got into my ventage car. I sighed and laid my head back against the headrest for a moment. "Mandella, why does my life blow?"  
  
"What blows?" A head appeared outside my open window, as Patrick kneeled outside of the door. I smiled, still savoring the fluttery feeling that I got when I saw him.  
  
"Partnership with Joey Donner blows." I answered and he leaned in to kiss me. I could feel his minty breath on my mouth even before he pressed it against my own. When he pulled away he patted my hair and smiled.  
  
"Well, I got a lucky break. Got stuck with Bogey's cousin, Dave, who's never gotten below an A- in his life. I figure, I'll sit back and let him do all the work, so he doesn't have a panic attack when someone else tries to handle his grade."  
  
"Hmm." I replied. "Smooth."  
  
He patted my hair again and kissed me before pulling back with a grin, "My car's in the shop. Give me a ride home?"  
  
"Sure."   
  
Just then I saw a rush of pink coming towards the car at top speed. I turned to see Bianca nearly tripping over her heels to get to the car.  
  
"Kat..." She said, out of breath. "Cameron...sick...need ride..home." She panted some more while I rolled my eyes at her.  
  
"What-am I running a taxi company?" I scoffed and turned the ignitioin. "Get in the back."  
  
****************  
  
I pulled the car into the driveway and lazily pulled myself out, followed by Bianca, Patrick, and Mandella who had decided to come over to study for our history exam the following day. I yawned as I felt Pat walk up beside me and push me lightly with his shoulder. I had to laugh. It was still hard to believe that someone would purposely be with me without a bet going on behind it, and as hard as it was to admit-at times-I still had a hard time trusting Patrick.  
  
"Five bucks says he distracts you, giving me at least a five point lead on whatever grade you get on the test," Mandella whispered teasingly into my ear. I narrowed my eyes at her, finding myself making a mental note to see if her theory would prove true.  
  
I took the initiative as Bianca moseyed over to the us, by sticking my key into the door and pushing it open laughing at Mandella. All of us had stumbled into the main entrance way before anyone had taken notice of the two people presently standing a mere five feet in front of us. Mandella was the first to notice them and she froze at my side, her eyes glazing over in disbelief.  
  
"Kat," she whispered much to my oblivion.  
  
Patrick looked at the two people and could suddenly feel the ice in the room. Bianca finally looked up from putting her purse securely around her shoulder and her eyes widened. Her mouth turned into a huge smile and she squeaked out an excited giggle. Right then I finally found myself looking up at the two figures and Patrick must have felt the instant way my body tensed, because I was mildly aware of his arm slipping protectively around my waist.   
  
The room fell silent and Mandella suddenly reached for my hand either out of feelings of protectiveness or a mere effort to manage her own feelings of disbelief. Bianca breathed a sigh of joy at my side and managed to utter in a whispy voice,   
  
"Mom."  
  
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A.N Like what you read? If you did or didn't, I really appreciate feedback, so tell me what you think! Thanks! 


	2. CH2Some Things Never Change

A.N: Thanks for the reviews! I'm hoping this chapter will give you more of a perspective on Kat's feelings about her mother leaving. Then the story can really kick off! :)  
  
To Walker: I'm not sure what you're confused about, but if it was because you thought that the story wasn't going to be continued, I hope this clarifies it! :) Thanks for the compliments, I appreciate it!  
  
Chapter Two: Some Things Never Change  
  
As night slipped into my room, the darkness fluttered onto my bed despite the lamp that I had kept on to leak its dimmness around me; silohetting my face. I hadn't said a word since we had first entered the house, having felt every single muscle in my body restrict itself into non-movement. It was as if the air had been sucked out of the room, and the only thing I could think was how to get the air back inside of me, how to remain neutral...how to breathe.  
  
My eyes were downcast as the thoughts raced through my mind, deliberately blocking out everything else. It wasn't until Bianca fled from my side and to the thin, blonde haired woman who stood silently next to my father, that I could look up. Just in time, in fact, to see her launch herself into a huge hug; earning a look of disbelief from me. It wasn't real, I kept telling myself. It couldn't be real. But it was.  
  
"Kat." Pat whispered coaxingly in my ear with his arm still firmly around my waist. His voice worked as an anti-freeze. His one soothing whisper of my name seemed to calm me, almost too much; as my body fell slack against his.   
  
"Kat." Pat said a little louder as he held me against him, looking down at me as if to say that he wasn't going to let me fall...in more ways that one.  
  
It was that little reassurance that brought me back to reality; my reality. I stood back up on my own two feet, pushing his arm away-no longer in need of assistance. That was when I felt the clammy hand in my own and looked down to see that I was squeezing Mandella's hand so tightly that it must have been hurting her terribly, though she hadn't spoken a word of protest. I released it immediately and looked up at Bianca and my mother who remained hugging.  
  
"Kat?" Came the bittersweet voice of my mother; of which I hadn't heard in three years. It was the final piece of the angry puzzle and I snapped, shaking my head and backing up.  
  
Bianca pulled away from her finally and turned to look at me, confusion flooding her eyes.  
  
"Kat," she said questioningly. Then she went on to explain to me as if I were a child who couldn't comprehend what was going on by saying in a soft tone, "Mom's home."   
  
I let out a quick breath as my eyes widened with incredulity. I raised my hand to my forehead and watched the floor before I glared back up at my father who was steadily avoiding my eyes.  
  
With all of the anger burning inside of me, it was almost too much when the ever present Ms. Stratford walked up to me and laid one slender hand on my arm. My skin crawled! I ripped my arm out of her grasp and managed to say through gritted teeth, "Never...do that again," before turning around and running out of the house. My car was started and had me speeding through the street in no time, leaving a concerned, Patrick and Mandella, a surprised Bianca, and a teary eyed mother whom I wished had just stayed gone behind.  
  
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I had drove with the wind blowing in my face for a long time before pulling back up to my house. Because I felt safe under the cover of darkness, I allowed myself inside and trudged up the staircase; thankful for the lack of a welcoming party. And now, there I sat. On my bed shaded by a darkness that felt like a sheet that kids crawl under when they lie awake at night, scared. But I wasn't scared. Katarina Stratford was never afraid. I was just angry...annoyed, which was my last thought before my angst had me asleep.  
  
When I woke back up, moonlight had replaced the eerie darkness that I was soaked in and shed clarification on my situation. I suddenly felt the knots in my stomach twist further and I almost choked on my nervousness. I stood up and tip toed through the house, finding my way to my father's bedroom...my parent's bedroom. When I looked inside, I found my father and mother sleeping on opposite sides of the bed; not touching at all. My poor sweet father had been so hurt when he had woken up to discover a note on his nightstand. When I saw him stride into my room that morning, I remember looking up at him from over a fashion magazine I had been engrossed in. He had never looked so pale-so lost.  
  
"Daddy?" I had whispered. My eyes had slowly drifted down his arm and to the small crinkle free letter he held tightly in his portly fist. His fingers slowly unclenched and the thin sheet had fallen to the floor between the doorway in an almost unreal slow motion.   
  
She was gone...   
  
I had left my gaze on the floor, not having to hear about my drifty unsettled mother leaving to know that I had lost her. We hadn't been good enough. She had always wanted more than a family, more than her sweet Bianca and loyal husband...more than me. Just then Bianca had appeared behind my father with a large smile draped across her face with her straw hat on and her one-piece pale pink bathing suit; having planned on going to the beach with Chastity.  
  
"I'm leaving now, Daddy-." She stopped mid-sentence as a chill ran down her spine. Her peripheral vision caught onto the small square of white on the floor even as she knelt to pick it up. "Daddy, you dropped this..." She stopped speaking as her eyes gazed over it. Her smile faded and her shoulders seemed to sink with the rest of the air that came out in a quick startled sigh. "This isn't-she's not...Kat?" She had turned to me with a lost expression and shook her head slowly. "Kat?" She repeated.   
  
I couldn't even find the power to move my head in her direction, only succeeding in rolling my eyes up to look at her with my head still down.  
  
Her small hands fell to her sides and her eyes grew large. She stood in that pouty postion for a while before saying very softly, "Kat...can she do that?"  
  
I felt a hardness forming inside of me at the sound of her innocent voice asking me whether or not this could be real. And that's how it started. That's when I made the transition from Katarina Stratford, class queen to Kat the shrew, Kat the overbearing student, Kat the overopinionated wench, the outcast...me.  
  
My dad shifted on the bed in front of me and brought be reeling back to now, shaking my head slightly to fully bring myself out of the day dream. It wasn't a time I liked to visit often, having actually blocked it out. It seemed as if my mother was already causing trouble. Some things never change.  
  
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A.N: Alright, now that we've got the history behind us, we can get more into the characters reactions (more specifically Kat's) not to her mother leaving but coming home! It might not be exactly the reaction you expect! 


	3. CH3Escape

A.N: Thanks again for the reviews! Your interest is of the utmost importance to me! lol :) I hope you like this chapter, because after this things are about to get a little sticky...  
  
*This chapter is still in Kat's pov, but the second part doesn't include her physical presence so that's why it sounds like its in the third person!  
  
And now the saga continues...lol  
  
Chapter 3: Escape  
  
The afternoon was unnaturally bright the next day and I was finding myself growing more irritated by the second. Sunshine wasn't what I wanted. I was experiencing seriously unwanted feelings. It should have been pouring and lightning, because the storm in my own head was about ready to throw me into a flood. Put simply, I was pissed.  
  
When day had broke and the first sounds of early morning were heard throughout my house, I grabbed my bag-newly changed in a pair of cargoes and a black halter top-and took the stairs two at a time right out the door. Even now the idea of going home is unpleasantly acquired.  
  
Mandella spotted me between passing periods-being the only person to manage it as I had stealthily been avoiding everyone at all costs. I thought about turning around and going in the other direction, but I was hardly looking to hurt her feelings so instead I remained still in the middle of the outside quad.  
  
"Kat," she greeted standing in front of me without trying to force a smile; knowing me too well and seeing that, that would have made me even more angry. Instead she put the situation bluntly, "This sucks worse than one of Joey Donner's report cards, huh?"  
  
That earned a small grin and I nodded my head a few times, before linking my arm with hers and walking over to a nearby bench fully intending on skipping Mr. Morgan's class to talk to her if that's what it took. Suddenly, it felt as if I had to get some of it out before my chest caved in. And if anyone would understand it seemed that Mandella, whom I'd trusted for years, would be that person.  
  
"Spill it to me, kid." She said playfully.  
  
I was about to open my mouth to speak one of the thousand complaints that were screeching through me, but halted abruptly.  
  
  
  
"What?" She asked.  
  
"Tonight." I said with a grin spreading across my face.  
  
"What about it?"  
  
"You and me at Club Skunk, that's what." Mandella's eyebrows met at the middle with a frown.  
  
"Kat, its a school night-."  
  
"Yeah, and we've always cared about stuff like that." I cut in sarcastically.  
  
She was about to mutter a word of protest and then switched gears, apparently finding right now-more than ever-to simply go along with whatever I wanted.  
  
"Sounds fun." She responded with a smile to back up the statement.  
  
I smirked; satisfied. "Good."  
  
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Patrick skipped over the few steps it took to get to the porch and walked smoothly over to the front door, ringing the door bell. It wasn't long before Bianca came and opened it, having to look up slightly at his tall form.  
  
"Hi, Patrick." She said politely.  
  
"Hey there, girly." He replied with a patient grin. "I wish to speak with the illustrious Kat. Didn't see her at school. Is she, um, under the apple tree?" He doubted that Bianca would comprehend his analogy on whether or not Kat was feeling well, but it didn't matter. He knew it wasn't going to be easy to adjust to the new appearance of the ever present Ms. Stratford and wasn't about to make Bianca feel uncomfortable now for any reason.  
  
"If that means, 'is she here?'-Then no. I didn't see her come home last night, though I'm pretty sure she did since I vaguely remember hearing her clamor down the stairs this morning before anyone could get up. I may have caught a glimpse of her at school, but it could have been any blondie in a pair of last month's rambo attire. And she hasn't bothered to come home yet." She paused as her eyes drifted out to the street and then quickly caught Patrick's stare head on, startling him slightly. "Kat isn't going to want to deal with this in the same way that she didn't want to deal with Mom's leaving. We should all be happy," she added dully, not convincing him. "Find her." She said and it was then that he realized what Bianca had been thinking.  
  
"Bianca, I know that Kat is a very independent girl but she wouldn't do that to you." He said quickly as to smooth over her nervous feelings.  
  
A small tear slid down her cheek and she wiped it away quickly with a small laugh. "Its funny that I haven't exactly been verbally shy to expressing my feelings of being perfectly okay with her leaving-if not pulling for it. But not like that. She's my sister, Patrick." She shrugged. "You know?"  
  
He smiled sweetly and nodded once. She took another shaky breath and he pulled her into a soft hug; placing a gentle kiss on the top of her head as a brother would to his baby sister. "One wish shall be granted to you," he said as if to lighten the mood as he pulled away from the appreciative Bianca.  
  
She smiled. "That I could help you look for her?" She asked hopefully.  
  
He raised an eyebrow, surprised.  
  
"Its just that my mom's inside, and I've been trying to-I'm not avoiding her-," she cut herself off and tried to explain that she wanted to escape without having to say it at all.  
  
"Hop in then." He said, understanding. "And may the search begin."  
  
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A.N: Hope you liked it! Please review! The next chapter may be a little on the long side, so *fingers crossed* I hope you still like it! I'm fixing to nose dive into the Kat-Pat relationship and Cam is going to be making a very important appearance! ;) 


	4. Ch4Broken

A.N: Thanks for the reviews. I am eternally grateful! :P  
  
Oh, and Cam's cameo will be in the next chappy since I decided that this part was more suited to follow chapter three. Sorry for the mix up! He will be in chapter five, though, as long as no other chronological conflict comes along! :)  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own 10 Things (...yet again...) and I don't own the band Seether or their song, Broken. I am simply using it to fit my liking! lol R&R, please!  
  
Chapter 4: Broken  
  
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The afternoon felt dry, like the sun was sucking all of the air out of the world; which wouldn't be such a bad thing, I mused. As I slowly trudged up the steps to my house, I wondered whether coming home at all was really the best option. I wouldn't take off like my unwelcome mother had, but I suddenly felt myself wishing that the time to leave to Sarah Lawrence would hurry up and arrive. There was nothing like dealing with something by...not dealing with it.  
  
As soon as I opened the door I walked uncaringly towards the stairs only to be stopped by my father's voice from somewhere close behind me,  
  
"Kat. Freeze. Talk." He ordered in three simple words and I found myself turning to him despite my complete distaste for doing exactly that.  
  
"Nothing to talk about." I told him sternly and then looked over his shoulder as if to search for the other person of which I knew had to be there.  
  
"She's not here." He interrupted my search and I frowned, realizing that I was too obvious about it.  
  
"What a surprise, because disappearing acts were never her thing, right?" I snapped hurtfully at him. He swallowed and sighed.  
  
"She went out to see her parents. She hasn't seen them in three years, either, if you can remember straight."  
  
"I do." I replied, softening at his undetering tone.  
  
He beckoned for the couch and I followed him reluctantly, sitting down at the opposite end of it in order to keep as much distance between me and the man who had apparently completely disregarded my mother's faults to allow her back into our lives. He noticed this but said nothing.  
  
"I have every right to be angry," then I cocked my head to the side, "angrier anyway." I refocused on him and raised my eyebrows.  
  
"Yes, you do-."  
  
"Dad! Wait...I do?" I asked, catching my mistake quickly.  
  
"Yes," he responded. "Your mother was gone for three years, Katarina, she can't exactly expect us all to adjust to this reappearance immediately-or ever for that matter. She wanted all four of us to have a talk yesterday afternoon, but it seemed that it would be more appropriate to wait." He said pointedly about my leaving yesterday and I half-frowned quickly. "We need to talk about how we're going to deal with this."  
  
"So-what? We're just going to have to adjust? She left us, Daddy! She left!" I told him with my voice rising as I stood up angrily. "She comes back, starts ordering meetings for us, and then we're just supposed to let old wounds heal? Well, excuse me if I'm not interested in that proposal in the slightest!"  
  
He continued to sit there, knowing then that I hadn't spoken two words towards her leaving regardless of his attempts to get it out in the open. In a way, I suppose he thought that it was better to erupt in front of him that blow up around someone else.  
  
I noticed this gesture and immediately shut my mouth. I wasn't about to let myself be psycho analyzed regardless of the circumstances. I shook my head slowly in angry frustration. Turning around quickly, I strode over to the coat rack and snatched my full length black coat off and walked briskly to the door.  
  
"Kat!" I heard him call after me as he followed me hurriedly; re-opening the door after I closed it very close to his face. "Kat, this isn't the best situation, I know-."  
  
"Situation?" I whirled around on the porch as he walked out and spit back at him. "Situation?! Telling Bianca she couldn't date until I did, was a situation. Finding out that Patrick went out with me because Joey "the Jerk" Donner paid him to-was a situation. *This* sucks!" I shook my head exasperated. "I don't want to know her, Dad. I lost that interest a long time ago. She should have stayed gone, because the moment she willingly stepped out of that door was the moment I wished she'd never come back."  
  
His eyes widened and I sensed another presence behind me before I even turned to see my petite, blonde, mother standing there with the most crushed expression that I had ever seen on anybody's face before. My face was expressionless as I stood there feeling very sick. I rolled my eyes, pushing past her and muttering,  
  
"Remorse isn't something I do," I blatantly letting her know that she would get no apology for what I'd been holding inside of me and stalked off to take shelter in my car. Mandella's house was hot on my mind.  
  
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I had been driving for a while when a small buzz went off inside one of my larger pockets. I pulled out the cell phone that I had bought for emergencies and looked at the number: Patrick. I hesitated before replacing it in my pants and looking back to the road. I couldn't talk to Patrick yet even though part of me wanted nothing else but to do just that. He would be worried, sarcastically avoiding telling me that bluntly, but he woudld be. Though, it still didn't change the fact that right now I just needed to drive. I needed to think.  
  
I mean, who did she think she was anyway? Walking away-potentially forever-and then moseyeing right back into our lives? My father and Bianca may have some sort of super molding abilities, but I wasn't about to alter my lack of acceptance just because she gave us puppy dog eyes and wandered in the house with her tail between her legs. The fact that they were even considering it made me slightly nauseous.  
  
I groaned loudly and hit the steering wheel in frustration. Just to distract myself I did something that I hadn't done since the first day I got my car...I changed the station. I scoffed. Everything was below my high level of expectations in the music department until I finally landed on something that immediately had me pulling my hand back over to the steering wheel.  
  
I squinted my eyes in concentration as Seether's 'Broken' poured in through my speakers, singing -or crying- words that fit my situation all too well.  
  
~I wanted you to know I love the way you laugh  
  
~I wanna hold you high and steal your pain away  
  
~I keep your photograph; I know it serves me well  
  
~I wanna hold you high and steal your pain  
  
`An image of my mother and I playing in the park when I was five flashed into my head as I continued to burn holes into the pavement ahead of me.`  
  
~Cause Im broken when I'm open  
  
~And I don't feel like I am strong enough  
  
~Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome  
  
~And I don't feel right when you're gone away  
  
`She bent down to adjust my yellow sun dress on my shoulders and smiled at the finished results. I grinned back up at her and looked down shyly as she giggled her soft whispery laugh into the wind of the cool Autumn day.`  
  
I shook my head slightly at the memory and tried to force my mind to refocus on the road, but the song continued and my slight twitch did nothing to restrain the sweet vision of the past.  
  
~The worst is over now and we can breathe again  
  
~I wanna hold you high, you steal my pain away  
  
~There's so much left to learn, and no one left to fight  
  
~I wanna hold you high and steal your pain  
  
`With ease, she leaned over and gave my forehead a small kiss, before picking me up in her arms and swinging me around.`  
  
~Cause Im broken when I'm open   
  
~And I don't feel like I am strong enough  
  
~Cause Im broken when I'm lonesome  
  
~And I don't feel right when you're gone away  
  
`"Mommy," I had whispered to her when she set me back down with the same loving smile lining her soft features.  
  
"What is it, sweety?" She knelt down to look me directly in the eyes, moving her thin hand to brush the strand of blonde hair that kept pulling free of my ponytail out of my eyes.  
  
"Will we be friends forever?" My eyes grew two times as they watched her adoringly, in hopes that her answer would be affirmative.  
  
She simply smiled and replied in a breezy heart stopping whisper, "I'll never leave you, sweety...never."`  
  
I yanked the car to the side of the road and slammed on the brakes with unintentional force. But it felt good to strike out like that, so I did it again. My left hand clenched into a tight fist and my right arm swung back and slapped the steering wheel angrily. I slammed my other foot down and the car lurched forward only to be abruptly stopped when I kicked out the opposite one. I punched the space in front of me again and again, moving the car with my kicks and finally snatching the keys from the ignition and throwing myself out of the car. I crossed over to the passenger's side and flung the door open bending down to reach into the glove compartment which fell open without a complaint.  
  
Reaching my hand inside, I dug around for only a few seconds before withdrawing my trembling hand to reveal a small white Polaroid. I turned it around slowly to reveal a picture of an attractive, thin, woman with streaming blonde hair that only too many people had complimented me on inheriting in my early years. She had her arm wrapped around a three year younger version of myself with matching goofy grins on our faces. Smiles of two best friends hanging out...smiles that she had made sure would never have the opportunity to show themselves again.  
  
"God..." I muttered under my breath; standing in between the open car door and the car itself. "God!" I screamed at the sky and immediately quieted as I laid my head down onto my arms that rested on the hood of the car.  
  
Swallowing hard, I sunk down into the passenger seat, hunching over my lap pensively. Finally, I withdrew my phone and grudgingly brought my thumb to one of the few numbers I had on speed dial.  
  
"Patrick?" I asked after I heard the click. "Tell Bianca I'm fine." I said half-heartedly in response to his comment on looking for me with my sister. "Could you just come pick me up? I need someone to drive me to Mandella's." I rolled my eyes, annoyed at his next question. "No, my car's fine." He said something else and I sighed. "No, I don't care if you drop Bianca off first." He started to say something else, but I cut in. "Look! Patrick, are you coming or not, because if today isn't manageable for you I'm sure I can ring up one of my other less 'interrogation-happy' boyfriends."  
  
One seductively sarcastic comment and a click afterward, I flipped the phone shut and let out a quick breath. I looked down at the picture of the pretty face that I held in my hand again and clenched my jaw. Leaning back into the car, I put the key back in with a twist and switched the station back to my monotony of angry girl rock.  
  
Joan Jett's, 'Bad Reputation', screamed through the speakers and sullied me as I leaned back into the seat.  
  
"Yeah," I muttered. "I don't give a damn, either."  
  
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A.N: So I hope the plot is shaping a better look at Kat's view on her mom's coming home! Please review! I'm much obliged! 


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